Transportation Secretary Slater Announces Workshops for Borders and Corridors Program

Topics:  Rodney E. Slater

Federal Highway Administration
October 18, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 18, 1999
Contact: Jim Pinkelman
Tel.: 202-366-0660
FHWA 66-99

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today announced a series of workshops across the country this fall to highlight a highly successful program that provides millions of dollars in federal-aid funds to states for corridor and border infrastructure projects.

The program, known formally as the National Corridor Planning and Development and the Coordinated Border Infrastructure Programs, was authorized in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the landmark surface transportation law that President Clinton signed on June 9, 1998.

"The Borders and Corridors program is a key part in President Clinton’s goal to support the North American Free Trade Agreement by providing safe highways for moving people and goods between Canada, Mexico and the United States," Secretary Slater said. "These workshops will benefit states and communities that want to take advantage of the program."

The workshops, which are being conducted by the department’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will be held Oct. 19-20 in Chicago, Oct. 26-27 in Atlanta, Nov. 8-9 in Seattle, and Nov. 16-17 in Phoenix. The first was held Oct. 12-13 in Hunt Valley in suburban Baltimore.

In May 1999, Slater announced almost $124 million in grants to 32 states for 55 projects. The workshops this fall are designed to help state and local officials learn about the application process for fiscal 2000 grants, give them an update on the program, and provide an opportunity to focus on the program’s future.

Both the corridor and the border programs provide the U.S. Department of Transportation authority to allocate dollars to states and metropolitan planning organizations. Nearly $700 million is provided for in the programs, including up to $140 million each year over the four remaining fiscal years, 2000-2003, of TEA-21. After obligation limitation reductions, $123.6 million was available under the programs in fiscal 1999.

In 1999, the FHWA received more than 150 funding requests for projects totaling $2 billion. All applications were found to be at least partly eligible for funding. The federal share for projects funded through the programs is 80 percent. The grants apply to highway, rail and intermodal projects.

For more information on the workshops, contact the Office of Intermodal and Statewide Programs, Federal Highway Administration, 400 7th St. SW, Washington, DC 20590, 202-366-0233. Information also is available on the agency’s website at: http//www.fhwa.dot.gov